A Family Unit
by strangeJenny
Summary: What if Nikita was pregnant when they find out that Michael has a son in England? What if she didn't tell him and had the baby at a secret location?
1. Prologue

Nikita and Dark Angel Cross-over

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, I just had a dream about them and decided to write about it.

A/N: This is my first ever story, so please let me know what you think?

Prologue

Nikita uses a hospital laptop to Google Birkhoff's name, thereby opening up the webcam conversation that she had seen Alex use a few times as a means of secret communication. As Birkhoff's face appears on the screen she smiles. "Hey Nerd, I need you to do me a favour, I'm sure it is within your ability, hack into a satellite and get it to shine a light in a Morse-code message for me. I need the message to be transmitted on the hour for three hours."

"Hey Nikki, yes it is lovely to hear from you, seeing as I've heard nothing in over three months! No I'm not too busy, trying to track down Black Boxes… but who cares about that?" said Birkhoff sarcastically, in reply.

"Sorry Birkhoff," she smiled sheepishly, "have you heard anything about Owen recently?"

"Why would I be keeping track of your friends Nikita? That sounds a little too much like caring for me. He is in North America somewhere, I can tell you that much." He was clearly still holding a grudge, for her disappearance from her Saving-the-World mission.

Nikita frowned a little at him, "Thanks Birkhoff, how is everybody?"

"Alex is fine, spending time with her new Seal friend. Mikey checks in every now and then, but he is still in London." He watched to see what her reaction would be; he worried about her sometimes, not that he would openly admit to of course. When Michael had left, he had tried to be there for her, she fell apart for a few weeks. Being Nikita she picked herself back up and got on with things. He had noticed the little things, like her not going on so many risky missions, gradually becoming no missions. It was Alex that noticed the wardrobe change, not that they mentioned it to Nikita of course, but the loose jerseys and hoodies, she never used to wear those.

Nikita ended the call rather quickly after that, sighing, _Well, that's that part done_, she thought to herself. She phoned Owen next, that was a very short conversation too, just the address and that she needed him to visit her. Now I just need to wait, she thought.

It was Bugler that first noticed the message; he alerted the others to the strange light. Within seconds Zero had the message decoded and they packed up and moved out shortly after.

The young woman that stood in front of her as her visitor, was clearly not Owen, she was thin with long blond hair, holding herself up straight. "You are Nikita, you asked for protection, please confirm?" stated the woman. Nikita nodded, and the woman continued "Communication is established, my name is Ralph and I shall be your contact for today. The others are setting up surveillance and a protection detail. We should get on the move as soon as possible."

"Actually I am waiting for a friend to arrive, but he should be here in a few days at the most." said Nikita to Ralph.

"No parameters created, delay has been confirmed. Transportation will be acquired for the journey when it comes," said Ralph as she nodded and stood at-ease.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot currently offer you much money–" said Nikita but she was cut-off as Ralph interrupted.

"Money is not necessary, we only require a roof, a kitchen and water" said Ralph.

"At the new location that will easily be achievable," nodded Nikita. "But then, why are you doing this?"

"You are a good warrior, a soldier. Soldiers look after their own; we will protect you." Ralph said it with such surety, that Nikita felt that this would be the only answer that she would be given.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

When Owen arrived at the hospital he didn't know what kind of situation he was walking into. He would do just about anything for Nikita, she had saved him, had forgiven him, given purpose to his life. When she had called, saying she needed him, then given him the name of the hospital, he didn't know what to think. Was she injured so bad that she needed to be in an actual hospital? What name was she here under? How was he going to find her? When he entered the building via the front entrance he muttered "Where are you Nikita?" under his breath. Under normal circumstances nobody would hear those words, unless perhaps he was wearing a coms unit, but he wasn't today. He was heard from across the room, by the keen hearing of the young transgenic doing a puzzle in the lounge area of reception. As Owen did a quick sweep of the room he noticed there was a boy sitting by one of the coffee tables, the boy looked up to stare directly at him. The boy continued to stare as he got up and walked towards Owen.

"Are you him?" the boy asked. _What kind of question is that?_ Owen thought to himself, staring questioningly at the little boy. The boy straightened up beneath his stare, drawing back his shoulders, hands by his sides, "Do you have a password?" he asked.

Owen frowned, _what was this?_ Then he began to think? Had Nikita given him any secret words, not in the phone call, earlier than that perhaps? Something that was only known between him and Nikita, then? "Butterfly?" he asked without thinking. It was something Emily made out of glass, proof that nature gave second chances. But, there was no way to know if that was the answer that was required or not, or even if this kid was anything to do with her. _So what, if this kid held himself like a soldier, there are no soldiers this young in this country…_ He started to ramble even in his own thoughts.

"Password accepted. Pass friend" said the little boy standing slightly to the side. Then relaxing slightly, he looked back to the man in front of him frowning. "Do you know where you are headed, Sir?" at the blank look on Owen's face, he continued "If you would follow me sir? I will take you to her room." With that the boy turned and headed up the stairs at a quick walk.

Owen, startled at the turn of events, hurried to catch up with the boy. "Hey kid, you got a name?" he asked, eloquent as ever.

The boy glanced sideways at the man, taking in the back-pack and worn jacket, "Bugler". That was the name Max had given him just after she had saved their little group. Max was the first one to show him affection, treat him like family. Bugler was a sign of his freedom.

_That's a strange name,_ thought Owen. But the kid seemed kind of guarded about it, so he let it drop. "I'm Owen", he said to finish the introductions.

Bugler glanced at him and answered in monotone, "It is known".

*/***\\*

As they reached the top of the stairs, they came to a fairly open corridor, the carpet was nice and the wallpaper neutral, yet in no way felt sterile, _what kind of hospital was this?_ They clearly had a lot of money, if they had so much to spend on the decor.

There was a young woman standing by a door further down the corridor than they were. They came to a stop next to her. She nodded at Bugler as they swapped positions and the woman began to walk further down the corridor. The woman had reddish hair and pale skin with a dusting of freckles. She turned when Owen did not follow, "Mr Elliot, are you not coming? We have little time and need to move soon." Glancing at Bugler, who gave a nod, then followed the young woman. She led him down another corridor, this one slightly narrower. They came to a door, which she knocked on, asking "Permission to enter?" There was a murmur from inside and she held the door open for him. "She will meet you in there" she stated.

Owen entered feeling a little strange, where ever he was there was an interesting security detail here. He looked around the room he was currently in, there were two wooden doors with ornate doorframes, the wallpaper of one of the walls looked like shelves of books, which was curious. Next to this wall there were two chairs and a coffee table. He sat down in one of them, his back-pack still on his shoulder, then a few moments later the other door opened.

Nikita entered the room with a calm smile, "Owen, it is good to see you, thank you for coming".

Owen stood up, assessing her for any outward sign of injury or distress. Finding none, he asked, "How are you? Why am I here?"

"Owen I am sorry that I did not explain on the phone, but I couldn't. I need you to help me get checked out. But I also need you to not freak-out with what I have to show you okay?" Nikita remained eye contact throughout, _this was the hard bit, _she thought, "Just trust me okay?"

"Of course I trust you Nikita, just tell me what is going on" he said the first part with confidence, like it was a given.

Nikita reopened the door she had just entered by "May I?" Owen heard her murmur as he followed. "And could you give us a minute?" As Owen entered he was met with a tall young man as he was leaving. The young man closed the door on his way out. As Owen turned back to face Nikita after staring questioningly at the door, he was faced with an unfamiliar sight. He blinked to make sure he wasn't imagining this, nope, it was true. Nikita was holding a baby! Owen gasped, blinked a few more times, and then as he looked towards them, little pieces of the puzzle started falling into place.

"This is your baby, isn't it? You weren't gravely injured; you were pregnant, well, less so now, em… I mean, the baby. That was the reason, you came here, but… but what do you need me for?"

_That was a fairly long speech, by Owen standards at least. Now the next bit needs to go right. Oh well, here it goes!_ "Yes Owen the baby is mine. Yes I wasn't ill or injured, sorry that I let you think that, but I do still need you. In order to check out, I needed a family member to be here. Well, you are the closest thing to family I have." She paused, _so far so good, although I can't just leave it there…_ beeping started to come from her watch, accompanied by a flashing light. "Oh crap!" Nikita swore. "Look Owen I promise I will explain everything, but we have to leave now. Everything is packed. Please come with me to check out?" she looked at him, the question in her face, but also evidence of worry.

"Yes, of course" he answered.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; this is just a dream I had.

A/N: The underlined sections are supposed to be flashbacks.

Chapter 2

There was a knock at the door, and the young man's dark haired head appeared. "Preparations for exfiltration are complete, permission to start stage one?" he looked towards Nikita.

"Yes I guess we better get a move on." The young man entered, accepted the baby and lifted a bag. She held open the door for the young man, "Come on Owen".

Owen followed. As they progressed back the way he had come, they met up with the young woman from before, who now held a suitcase and then Bugler. The bag the young man was carrying was passed to Bugler and they continued. When they approached reception, Owen asked softly "What name do I sign as?" looking towards Nikita.

"Sign with your real name, the records are kept as paper, and it is only at the end of the year that they are digitised, they are very discrete with names, so there is nothing to worry about. I'm here as myself." Nikita explained to him, with a small smile. The paperwork only took a few moments, the staff seemed happy that now there was a man in the family unit, it was safe for them to leave.

A car was waiting for them outside, driven by another young woman, with fairly long blond hair tied at the back in a loose ponytail. "How did you arrive?" Owen was asked by Bugler.

"Eh, I got a taxi," Owen answered. The others nodded, the luggage was placed in the boot and everyone, except the young man and the red-head, climbed into the Peugeot. "Hey where are you two going?" he asked.

"They will meet up with us later when we reach our destination" said the young blond woman from behind the wheel. Bugler sat in the front passenger seat, eyes scanning the mirrors every few seconds.

In the back Nikita sat holding the baby, while sitting next to Owen. "We met a few years ago while I still worked for Division. We met during an extraction mission" said Nikita. "Both teams had infiltrated the prison, and were just at the point of extracting their objectives, when we met. Our prisoners' cells were opposite one another, their skill, was amazing, the device they had to carry out their prisoner…" Nikita trailed off caught up in the memory.

The lights were low, and the prison was quiet as the inmates slept. I pushed the trolley along the corridor at a relaxed pace. Stopping outside the cell, Nikita began to pick the lock; the prisoner awoke as the lock clicked open. Nikita entered the cell, and chloroformed the prisoner; he fell limp in her arms. Just as she was man-handling him into a concealed compartment in the trolley, she heard a rattle coming from the ceiling. Nikita froze, waiting, looking all around. As she watched, a head appeared, followed by shoulders, then in one fluid motion a man appeared out of the ceiling. _Must be an air vent_ thought Nikita. The man after having landed like a cat, picked the lock of the cell opposite her in a manner of seconds. He entered the cell, held the prisoner to his chest, as he injected something into the neck of the prisoner. As the prisoner went limp, he began positioning the prisoner along his body. Then Nikita heard strange clicking noises, as she looked she realised that the prisoner was being attached to the ceiling-man. After a few testing movements, the body seemed to move easily, with the host-body to which it was attached. He didn't seem even slightly affected by the prisoner's weight that he was effectively carrying. Then as if for the first time, the man saw Nikita; he turned, taking in the legs poking out of the end of the trolley. The man turned his head listening for the heartbeat, and upon hearing it, gave the military sign for extraction. Nikita nodded, then with a questioning expression nodded towards the man. The ceiling-man nodded, in answer…

"Nikita, are you still with us?" asked Owen, his concern evident on his face.

"Yes, sorry Owen, so we both successfully got our separate prisoners out of the prison, however the prison itself was situated on an island and the boat I had arrived on had been found by the security personnel. That's when I noticed the other operative from earlier…"

The ceiling-man just seemed to fade out of the shadows and into her sight. Again he used military signs to say "we do this in peace", to which Nikita nodded. Then she asked the man "Do you speak any English?"

The man nodded and motioned her to follow; they came to the water's edge where an underwater ski doo was located. "We can put your prisoner in an air-tight box with a can of oxygen, then we hang onto this device, and it will pull us through the water. You might get cold, though there is nothing we can do about that" said the man.

Nikita nodded, she had been through a lot, and she could handle this. "Where is your prisoner? Won't he require this for extraction?" asked Nikita, which was quite reasonable. The young man smiled, "My partner has already taken him with a similar device."

Nikita continued the story, "He got me off the island and to a safe house, to dry off. That's when I met his partner, they didn't seem to speak much, but we made a friendship of sorts. Before we separated we made a code on which we could be contacted if the situation arose. Morse-code on a satellite, a code only the three of us knew. And so here we are, I called them, and they came."

Owen sighed, while explaining the presence of the others, slightly; it did raise several more questions. "You need to explain more" he stated.

"Okay, explaining the code… okay say you wanted to say potato? Well through the code you would come out with cider. Do you understand?" From Owen's blank stare, she saw that further explanation was needed. "The French for potato is _pomme de terre_. The _pomme_ part means apple, apple of the ground. So what do you make apples into? Cider, do you get it now?"

Owen nodded slightly, but still seemed unsure, "Seems like there could be several interpretations. How would you know if your translation it is correct?"

"Why wouldn't we be able to understand the code?" asked Bugler, turning from the from passenger seat to frown at Owen. "We are good with codes" he stated as fact.

"Okay well how about accounting for human error?" asked Owen not quite believing the kid.

"I suppose you could doubt Nikita for some error within the coded message. But she is your friend, why would you not trust her?" Bugler replied. Thinking that Owen's use of _human_ was a reference to Nikita and obviously not a member of his enhanced family.

Owen sighed, admitting defeat in this argument. "So the man you met on that mission a few years ago, who was that?"

"Oh that was Zero, you met him earlier at the hospital" answered Nikita offhandedly.

"Hmm…" _I wouldn't call that meet exactly. Well at least that little story didn't end up with this "Zero" kid being the father. With the way this weird day was going anything could happen… _"How about we do some introductions?" Owen asked hopefully.

"It might be a better idea to do that once we arrive, when we are all together?" the woman from the front seat paused. "Or I guess we have time now for brief ones. You know Bugler, you know Nikita, obviously, and this is Baby that she is holding. Baby this is Owen; he is a friend of your mother's." At this Owen rolled his eyes, feeling like he was being treated like an idiot. "Oh and I'm Ralph" she added at the end, as if she had forgotten.

"Thank you. Ralph and Bugler it is nice to meet you. I'm Owen Elliot."


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

A/N: This is my first ever story so it would be good to get some feedback

Chapter 3

"Do we need any supplies for the new base?" asked Bugler after a few hours of driving in silence.

"Well it has a supply of basic field rations, but nothing for a baby, so yeah, probably a good idea to get some. Is there a department store around here?"

"Do we have money enough to go on a shopping spree?" asked Owen looking around.

"If we find a pawn shop, I can get us a few hundred," volunteered Bugler, while playing with something in his pocket.

"If we find a busy town-centre I'm sure we can relieve some people of the weight in their wallets." Ralph said with a slight smile at the corner of her lips while staring at the road ahead.

"You're talking about committing a felony, without even blinking at it. You're just kids!" exclaimed Owen.

Nikita frowned at him shaking her head. "Never under-estimate anyone Owen, Division should have taught you that! They would never suggest something like this if they didn't have complete confidence in carrying it out safely."

Bugler smiled at Nikita's reaction, it was nice to have somebody stand up for their capabilities without question. It was true that most humans like Owen saw them as children, especially himself. _But I'm a trained soldier, just the same as the others!_

After a pause, to let her words sink in, Nikita continued, "I have a fair amount at the house that will be our base, but it is a good idea not to become dependent on it. We could get some tools, baby stuff and disposable cell phones. Nothing big."

"The map says there is a retail park coming up at the next junction" said Bugler from the navigator's seat.

As they parked the car they formulated a plan of action, "Owen you and Bugler you are on tools and cell phones. Ralph your with me for baby stuff. If you see something you need then get it, but use discretion. Here is $150 for each team."

"Meet back here in say, an hour?" suggested Owen. The others nodded in agreement.

"Do you know much about tools?" asked Bugler as they made their way through the DIY part of the store.

"I do all the fixing myself and a fair amount of the creation, although nothing fancy. Just what is needed, how about yourself?" from Bugler's slight shake of the head, Owen went into a bit of teacher mode. "Take the tools themselves, for example, you don't want to go for the really top-end expensive stuff. You want the stuff that will actually do the job and last a while." Explained Owen, while picking up a power-drill and placing it in the trolley. "Firstly we need the basics hammer, nails, screwdrivers, screws, maybe a spanner…" he listed them off on his fingers. Then glancing around at the other shoppers, he continued in a lower voice. "Now as this place will be our base for some time, we also need to thing about defensive mechanisms. So we will be getting fine wire, wire cutters and a pair of plyers." Then back to normal volume again, "Bulbs, we might need some of them, but I don't know what the fittings look like, so no point getting them just yet. We should stop by in the camping department, will you remind me later? Oh and I've got a nifty way for heating the house. We don't need paint or wallpaper, who cares about that? Do you see any shopping assistants around?"

Bugler looked around and pointed to a man stacking rolls of wallpaper.

Owen went up to the assistant, "Excuse me please, where would I find tins?" he asked miming with his hands.

The assistant thought for a moment before clarifying, "Paint tins? With paint inside? Or for mixing the paint colours? Or do you mean a tin of nails, sir?" he asked with an inviting smile.

"I was looking for the empty kind if that isn't too much trouble? Perhaps these mixing tins you spoke of?" asked Owen trying to be his most polite.

The assistant smiled at the nice man and his son, it was nice when customers were polite, no need for yelling, "Right this way sir." Owen and Bugler followed the assistant along the aisles, "we have a few sizes as you can see. Is there anything else I can help you with, or shall I just leave you guys to it?"

Owen smiled at the man, "No thank you, I think we will manage the rest. Thank you for your help." As the assistant walked back the way they had come, Owen picked up a few of the empty tins. "Always nice to be polite, they are just doing their job. Plus they tend to notice you more if you raise your voice, and we don't want that. Now all we need is some White Spirit paint stripper and we'll be done."

"How much will this all cost? I was counting earlier; do you think we will have enough money?" Asked Bugler, he had been enjoying his time with Owen, learning new things, but he had lost track of the count and reality was seeping into his happy bubble.

After noticing the lad's face drop into worry he replied, "Nah, we'll be fine, I've got some of my own anyway. This stuff is necessary. Right, anything we have forgotten?"

Bugler's worry eased, he looked up and said, "You wanting to go to camping supplies."

"Ah yes, well remembered kid" he said while rubbing Bugler's head. "We'll buy this stuff first, then head over there. You gonna help carry the bags?" Bugler nodded, and they proceeded towards the check-out.

Meanwhile, in another section of the department store, Ralph and Nikita were having female bonding moments. After the first purchase of the day being a baby-sling so that Baby could be attached to Nikita at all times without the use of her arms. They had purchased other baby necessities such as diapers and onesies, and then they moved on to food stuffs. Baby wouldn't be wanting any kind of solid food for ages yet. So it was all adult food, some fruit, a bit of veg, a loaf of bread and a few tins of soup. Then came the fun part, clothes!

Nikita was currently in the dressing room waiting for Ralph to appear in the new outfit. A few moments later Ralph emerged in nice skin hugging jeans and a pink silky top.

"You look great!" beamed Nikita. "This can be worn casually in public during the day or in the evening", _I'm blaming this on my hormones, I'm not usually this into fashion. _Amanda had been the first one to teach her the value of fashion and fitting in while undercover._ If it is presentable, and I can fight in it then, normally it's fine. But, oh well, today I'm just going with it._

Ralph blushed, "You really think so?" she asked nervously. _I've never worn anything like this before, but I love it!_

Nikita nodded enthusiastically. "We should go meet up with the boys soon. I just need to get some soft clothes now that I am back to my normal size again." After picking up a few items from the clothes rails, they proceeded to the checkout once more.

"I just remembered we haven't got cell phones yet," said Ralph after having stopped abruptly with the bags.

"Ah yes, well done, we'll head back to the supermarket section," replied Nikita. "Oh and while we are there we could get some loo roll, we did say necessities after all."

"You managing with your bags alright Bugler?" Owen saw him nod, _he did insist on doing his share._ Then as Owen walked past a stand, "Hey do you want a cell phone?" Another nod and a smile from the boy. "Excuse me could we look at your cell phones?" He asked the stall-holder while placing his shopping bags on the floor. "What are the cheapest ones you've got? And do they come with covers?"

Bugler came over to look, "Could I have a blue one?" he asked, getting better at his innocent child face.

"Does the cell come with credit? Should we get some for your brother and sister?" The first question directed at the stall-holder.

"Five dollars credit is included in the price of the cell, if you buy two, you get a third half price" recited the stall-holder.

"Okay we'll take three and three covers. You get to choose the colours kid."

After a moment's thought, Bugler selected a dark blue, a light green and a dark green. Owen handed over the money, and Bugler placed them into his shopping bags.

They all converged on the car at approximately the same time. "You get what you need? Got money to spare?" asked Nikita cheerily, as they loaded their goods into the boot of the car.

Owen glanced at Bugler, "All gone on our end, you?"

"We have a bit left over" answered Ralph with a smile.

"Where is the next gas station? Or are we doing fine?" asked Owen. "How are the others doing do you know?"

"We got cells now so we can call and ask," replied Bugler "is there anything you were wanting?"

Owen nodded handing Bugler a scrap of paper, "Should be able to get it at a pharmacy".

Bugler, sitting once more in the front passenger seat, assembled a phone and typed in the number for Zero's cell. He then relayed Owen's message quietly over the phone, so that neither of the humans could hear. Of course Ralph did, but she didn't say anything, _rubbing oil? What could he want that for? A surprise for Nikita, perhaps? Although they didn't seem very romantically involved…_ As Bugler hung up the call, he announced to the car, "They are ahead of us, but stopped at a small town for gas and a meal. They said they would get you what you asked for." In answer to which Owen nodded.

After a while of driving Nikita asked "Do we want to stop for something to eat? Or push on to the house?"

"We're nearly there actually, maybe another half an hour on this road, then another half hour on a smaller one?" said Ralph.

"Okay I say we head on, there is stuff to do before we sleep tonight" said Owen.

Bugler sat up straighter, "How's Baby doing? Been nice and quiet for the long drive".

That brought a sleep to Nikita's lips, "Yeah Baby is doing great, sleeping the now."

A/N: I don't know if they sell empty paint tins in America, I'm not from there, but I needed it for my story to work. Reviews? Anybody?


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"You might want to be more alert now; the road is getting narrower, and less smooth. Just warning you guys, it might get bumpy" said Ralph, while swerving to avoid pot-holes.

"Just take it slow and steady, I'll phone the others, tell them that we are nearly there," said Bugler.

"What is this place? How did you know about it?" Owen asked Nikita.

"Do you remember when I first made my stand against Division? I stayed in that big empty place; that was a Whitfield property that I had kept out of the records, well this is another. He left them to me; it is safe and off the grid, even got its own generator for power." explained Nikita.

As they came up the drive, the trees cleared, and they could finally see the property that would become home for the next few weeks. The house was big and white with lots of windows, there was a porch extending forwards, and a red tiled roof. The place would look beautiful in the summertime and rather grand all year round. There was another car parked at the front, a dark green Ford.

When they got out of the car they were met by the rest of the team. Owen noticed that the young man from the hospital, _Zero they said was his name _was the tallest of their young team. Owen was a little shocked when Nikita said the words "Fall in" in an authoritative manner. Even more so when that is exactly what happened, they arranged themselves in order of height, starting with Zero and ending in Bugler. "Sound off," ordered Nikita.

"Zero, X6 …" said a tall young man with dark hair and dark eyes, thin and strongly built.

"Bullet, X6-787," followed a young man that was slightly shorter than Zero, but with a broader chest and slightly longer blond hair.

"Ralph, X6…" was a young woman with long blond hair going past her shoulders, standing about a full head shorter than Zero.

"Fix-it, X6-809," said a thin young woman with bright auburn hair just longer than her chin and a round face.

Finally at the end of the line a young boy with short dirty blond hair, "Bugler, X8- 621"

"Reporting for duty, ma'am," stated Zero, "would you like a report now, ma'am?"

"Yes, report," Nikita replied. Owen had never seen her in this roll before, yes she was bossy and got her own way a lot, but this, this was like the military, even Division wasn't as strict this.

"Initial findings of the property show it has been unoccupied for at least three and a half years. There are no leeks in the roof that have been found. Furthermore there are no rodents living within. The perimeter was examined, and the conclusion is that is defensible, with a few adjustments we can have eyes, and early warning systems in place. There are several large rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, a downstairs toilet, and a few bed rooms. There is a generator, although switched off to conserve fuel at this point." Zero finished his report and stepped back into formation.

"Thank you for the report, at ease everyone," Nikita smiled at their proficiency, she hadn't expected such a detailed report. "We should unload the car and meet in one room to go over our supplies." As soon as she finished speaking, the group were in motion, bags were handed from the car to the young soldiers so that everyone was carrying something and the car was empty.

Nikita and Owen stood their speechless, until Zero moved to her side, "Did you have a specific room in mind, ma'am?" in response she led them to what she considered to be the living room.

"Okay boys do you want to present what you bought today?" asked Nikita, looking towards Owen and Bugler.

"We started with the basic tools: hammer, nails, screwdrivers, plyers, screws, and power drill. Then we went onto the more practical things that we are going to need. So we've got rolls of thin metal wire, empty paint tins, and low energy camping lights. Did you guys get loo roll?" As he explained the items he pointed in the direction of the corresponding piled goods. Then he looked towards the girls and their pile of shopping.

"Of course we got loo roll, it's a necessity." Said Nikita sounding a little outraged at his suggestion that she would have forgotten, while covering the fact that she nearly had.

"Great! Can you chuck us one?" Asked Owen holding out his hands, he easily caught the one Ralph threw.

"You're not going to publically…" squeaked Nikita.

"No, what do you take me for?" he said while frowning at her. He began fiddling with the toilet roll, trying to get the inner tube out without unravelling the roll. Lifting his head back up he asked Zero, "You get that bottle I asked you to get?" Zero nodded and threw him the bottle. "Bugler could you pass me one of those little tins please?"

"What are you doing?" Asked Nikita with interest, everyone in the room was looking at what he was doing.

Having got the inner tube out, Owen squashed the roll to get it to fit into the tin. Then he opened the bottle, and began to slowly pour the rubbing alcohol into the tin. "You'll see, I'm nearly done," he answered cryptically. After about half the liquid was in the tin, he stopped pouring, and then replaced the lid of the bottle. "There! Bugler you got the lid?" Bugler passed it to Owen. "Right, so at the time I didn't know that we had a generator, but we still want to conserve fuel, this right here in my hand is a heater," he announced proudly. Clearing a space in front of everyone, he placed the tin on the floor, then taking a lit lighter towards it briefly the flame caught. Within moments the heat could be felt around the circle of surprised faces. "It's easy to switch off, either by blowing, or simply by placing the lid on top. It will burn for hours and there are no fumes. Also the base of the tin remains cool while it is lit. What do you guys think?"

Bullet spoke for the first time in Owen's presence, I think it is great. "Never seen anything like it, but I love it. Simple and effective, what's not to like?" Around the room the others nodded, there were also a few smiles, Owen smiled back.

After a pause, Nikita spoke, "After that performance, our stuff doesn't look very exciting. We got some clothes for Baby and me, some baby necessities and food."

Bugler's eyes lit up at the word food. Yes he was a soldier and could go days without food, but he was also a growing boy. He wasn't alone in feeling better knowing that they had fresh food for the next few days.

Next Fix-it stood up to talk, "After the initial sweep for problems and security, I did another looking for tools. I found a floor brush, broom, mop and bucket, cloths, an axe and a nice hunting knife."

"Good that we can clean up the house for living in, and now we have an axe to chop and split logs for firewood." Nikita said to the group, "Shall we get started now? So that we can then have a nice relaxed evening later."

"I'll start chopping wood", volunteered Owen, as he took the axe and headed outside, he was followed by Bullet and Bugler.

"I'll start sweeping the floors" volunteered Ralph picking up a brush, and extinguishing the heater.

Just then the baby started crying, "Uh oh" said Fix-it, "somebody needs changing" she said looking towards the baby.

Nikita nodded, "I'll change Baby, you okay to start doing the clear up?" she asked as she started rooting through the bags looking for the diapers and baby stuff.

The girls began sweeping the floor in a methodical fashion, Zero announced quietly, "I've got first watch, I'll be back in two hours" then exited the room.

Towards the rear of the house Owen was showing Bugler how to chop wood. Bullet was bringing logs from a pile next to the garden shed to be chopped, while Bugler positioned the wood in front of Owen. Owen liked splitting wood, just muscle working, no technology.

"Can I have a go with the axe?" asked Bullet after he thought Owen had started to tire, and there was a small pile of logs waiting. During the pause in action, Bugler began picking up all the splinters of wood and split logs.

Owen looked at the young man, he had only been going ten minutes, _haven't even taken my jacket off, was just finding the rhythm_, frowned Owen. "Alright you can have a shot for a bit", he said reluctantly.

Bullet took the offered axe and began chopping, using a nice long swing he was able to get the axe into the log in one stroke, and then only needing another softer whack to split the log. With his transgenic eyesight and co-ordination, he didn't fear missing the log as Owen did when he was warming up. "None of you are vegetarian right?" Owen asked the boys, they shook their heads. As Owen moved away, Bullet was able to release more of his strength, and split the wood in a single action. Bugler was kept busy replacing the logs that had just been split, so that he didn't really think about where Owen was going.

Owen had gone into the house to get a roll of metal wire, the plyers and wire cutters. He then went for a walk in the woods to set some snares.

He was just setting the third and final snare when Zero found him, "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm just seeing if I can catch our supper for tonight or tomorrow," replied Owen "how about yourself?"

Zero stood up straight as he replied "Patrolling the area, sir."

Owen frowned a little; this was the first time that Zero had addressed him at all and now it was _sir_, "I'll show you where I set the traps, so that you don't get caught up in them. You can check them on your patrol if you want, just let me know if they catch anything?" Zero nodded, and they moved off to the first two traps.

When Owen joined the boys with the axe again the pile Bullet had made of the logs waiting to be hopped was gone, and there were two quite substantial piles next to Bugler. Bullet headed back towards the house as Owen drew nearer. Bugler nodding to Owen explained his process. "You see this pile is made of the smaller bits of wood and splinters. While this other pile, is the nice evenly chopped logs."

They had been busy while he had been gone; Owen thought to himself, _I wasn't gone that long surely?_ "Well done kid" he said patting Bugler on the back, "see these smaller bits, the splinters as you call them, they will be good kindlers, to start the fire with". Bugler grinned at the praise from Owen. "We should maybe head back to the house now though; see how the girls are doing." Then they picked up armfuls of the kindling, to leave within the house, to keep it from getting wet.

When Nikita had finished dealing with Baby she came to join the girls and their sweeping. "You are doing really well in here, nearly finished the floor already," Nikita smiled. "I kind of have an issue that nobody thought of when we were shopping though," as Nikita paused the girls looked up from their work, "diapers, Baby is going to dirty them, and we didn't think about disposing of them." She held up a plastic bag that was holding the smelly article in question. "I've put Baby in a cloth one for the now, so it can be washed and reused. Just thought I'd let you know." Ralph nodded and smiled to show that they appreciated her telling them, but they didn't have a solution just yet.

Owen and Bugler were just entering the living room when both the girls and Bugler suddenly went still and looked up, the easy smiles falling from their faces. "What? What is it?" asked both Nikita and Owen looking from one to another of their young friends. Owen tapped Bugler on the shoulder, "Hey what's up?" he asked kindly.

Bugler snapped out of it, and frowned looking towards Owen and then Nikita, "You guys didn't hear it? There was a squeal of something dying, it only lasted a moment, but it was strange." Even his body language showed the unease he was feeling at this strange sound.

Realisation dawned on Owen, "Oh, I think I may have caused that…" he bit his lip uncertainly as he continued. "You see I set some snares to maybe catch our supper. They are designed to kill, and prevent the suffering of the animal. You guys must have really good hearing to have heard a rabbit's squeak. Or maybe I've just been near too many explosions…" he trailed off again. "I showed them to Zero earlier when I was setting them." The girls and Bugler started to brighten up again as they glanced at one another.

"That explains it then, there was no alarm signal because it was just a rabbit. Good idea about catching animals. Good source of protein and it will make our supplies last longer." Said Fix-it nodding and smiling, then she got back to work with the sweeping of the floor. "I've been wondering about the windows, do we wash them? Or should we just leave them as they are and try to not look like we are here?"

"That's a good question Fix-it and to be honest, I've been thinking about it too. I think for the first few days we will just leave them as they are, but the deeds to the house are in my name, so it's not like we are squatting or anything, we'll improve as we go, but it's not a top priority." Reasoned Nikita, "I've also been thinking of making a stew for supper, Owen if you could prepare the rabbit, and your heaters, can they be used to cook with?"

Owen nodded, "Yes, you just place the empty ones in a triangle like this, with the lit one in the centre, and there you go, a make-shift stove."

"We also need to dress the beds before tonight, has anybody picked their rooms yet?" Nikita asked, looking towards Fix-it who had been on the property for the longest.

"I just noted that they were bed rooms and moved on, I hadn't thought of assigning quarters. Oh an Owen, here is the hunting knife for the rabbit" Fix-it said handing it to him.

Bugler left with Owen once more out the back with a frying pan from the kitchen, while Nikita remained in the kitchen looking for vegetable knives, a chopping board and a large pot. Nikita returned to the living room after finding what she was looking for. "Ralph, could you do me a favour and get me a bucket of water from the well outside, please?"

While Ralph was gone, she detached Baby from her front and placed him on the couch between some cushions. When Ralph returned, Nikita set some of the water to boil in the pot, while she rinsed some vegetables in the other. Then she set about peeling and chopping the turnip. Fix-it appeared at her side once the task of the floor had been completed, "Is there anything I can do to help, ma'am?" she asked.

"You can peel the potatoes, if you would like?" offered Nikita. Fix-it nodded and started her next job.

"Would you like to choose a bed for tonight ma'am? Then I shall put the sheets on while you prepare the food?" Asked Ralph, looking at Nikita, "That is what you meant by "dress", right? Put sheets on the bed?"

Nikita nodded, "Do you guys not use that expression? But are you sure you don't mind, I can do it later?" At Ralph's nod, Nikita got up, after a bit of looking upstairs, Nikita found a double bed. "I will sleep here, if that is okay with the others?"

"Oh yes, nobody will complain, all our lives we have slept in single beds all our lives" replied Ralph enthusiastically. To which Nikita nodded uncertainly, to her that meant that they should be getting a double, but it was up to them. "Have you found the bed linen okay?" she asked, seeing the nod, she headed back downstairs to work with Fix-it on the stew.

A/N: I saw the heater idea on youtube and thought that it was something they might do. Review?


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry guys meant to get this up earlier, but I've had a busy week. Does anybody want to be a beta? Some reviews would be great

Chapter 5

Bugler was enjoying spending time with Owen, he liked the older man. Owen had a way of speaking to him that wasn't condescending or treating him like a kid too much. This Owen man seemed to know lots about many things that they weren't taught at Manticore. So far today they had covered buying good tools, making a good fume-less heater, setting snares, skinning rabbits, and now he was dissecting the rabbit to separate the best bits for eating.

"Do you want to keep the furs?" asked Owen, "If you get the tanning process right the skin will become soft and malleable, it also won't rot for a while. But it's up to you kid?"

Bugler was finding that the repetition of this word for child was actually a form of affection from this man. The man in the store had thought Bugler to be Owen's son; Bugler was beginning to think that he wouldn't mind having somebody like Owen for a father. "Could we do a few practices, before we decide what to do with them?" he asked.

"I think that's a reasonable aim, we'll set it aside the now though. Could you do me a favour? Firstly could you take these bones to Nikita for the stew, and then secondly try to find some flour? I'll stay here and guard the meat" said Owen. Bugler looked a little confused but gave a nod and ran off with the bones.

Nikita looked up from chopping the turnip into cubes, when Bugler entered looking confused. "Owen said to give you these bones from the rabbit for the stew, but I don't understand why?" said Bugler while looking at Nikita, who smiled.

"That's okay I know why. You see this boiling water; can you gently drop the bones in here please? After a while the bones will get softer and their nutrients will go into the water. This water will be used in the stew, lots of flavour and goodness, you'll see. You'll give Owen my thanks?" Nikita explained to the young boy, finishing with a question.

Bugler nodded, he was learning a great deal today. "Is there any flour in the kitchen?" he asked.

"I'll show you," volunteered Fix-it. Nikita sent her a smile of thanks.

Nikita put the turnip aside, peeled an onion, and began chopping it, _If you are going to make something, you may as well do it right,_ she thought to herself. When Fix-it returned, Nikita went into the kitchen to fetch a small bowl. She put the now-chopped onion in the bowl, and then she set about making another of Owen's fumeless heaters.

Owen was showing Bugler how to coat the chunks of rabbit in flour, when Nikita came out to join them. "How you getting on guys?" she asked.

"Nikita what's wrong? You've been crying!" exclaimed Bugler, looking alarmed. CO's did not show emotions, emotions made you look week, _something really big must be wrong!_

Owen and Nikita shared a smile, "She's fine, kid." Owen simply stated.

"No she isn't, there are tears on her cheeks!" Bugler didn't believe him though; he knew what crying looked like. Although she was smiling now, this just confused him further.

"I brought you some chopped onion, figured we are going to do this properly. Brought you a portable fire as well," Nikita said, handing him the tin, the bowl and an extra plate.

"Hey kid, take a sniff of this," said Owen holding out the bowl of onion towards Bugler.

Bugler sniffed and sharply exhaled. "What is that?" he asked, screwing up his face.

Owen's smile grew a little bigger, "Its onion, kid. The smell kinda makes you tear up, doesn't it? Well imagine doing the chopping, would be more powerful, the smell, wouldn't it?" he asked Bugler, explaining his point.

Bugler looked to Nikita with his thinking face, "So, you are really okay?" He asked hesitantly.

Nikita smiled at him nodding, she ruffled his hair before going back into the house.

"Okay kid, can you go and get a bucket of water?" requested Owen. Bugler nodded and ran off to do as asked. While Bugler was gone, Owen placed the flour coated rabbit chunks onto the plate. When Bugler returned, they used the water to rinse the frying pan. Owen set the tin on the ground and lit it; he then poured the onions into the frying pan from the bowl, and held it above the flame. "Can you go back to the kitchen and find a wooden spoon?" asked Owen and Bugler ran off to do as asked.

Ralph had decided that not only was she going to dress the double bed, she was also going to sweep the floor and air the room. She then moved on to the next room, it was a single bed, so she didn't have to wrestle with the duvet for quite so long. The room itself wasn't that big anyway, soon the floor was clean, and the room ready for its occupant. She did another three rooms in this fashion before heading back downstairs.

Fix-it was now peeling carrots; Nikita had a big bowl of chopped potatoes and turnip sitting next to the pot. The water in the pot was boiling away nicely, Nikita decided it was time to fish out the bones and start adding the vegetables.

Bullet had been on patrol with Zero for some time now, he needed time to think. It was strange having these humans here who didn't properly know the truth about their little group. The assignment to protect was fair enough, a mother want's her child to be safe; they were excellent soldiers, so it was easy to offer protection without too much hassle. He wondered about the time scale of this assignment, the top priority was only a few weeks old at the moment; when would the threat disappear? This Owen person, he was a bit unpredictable, the snares, the heaters; he had knowledge, knowledge he was willing to share. To Bullet it was a little unsettling to see the bond between Bugler and Owen, for it to have formed, so strong already, after not even a full day. _Soldiers were supposed to be unattached; a little comradery was fine, but… No that was Manticore talking! Max said these were his family._ He signalled Zero that he was going back into the house. He saw the acknowledgment sign from the other end of the clearing.

Ralph was just coming down the stairs when she saw Bullet come in. "Hey," she said in greeting, with a small smile.

Bullet returned the smile. They met in the hall, Bullet frowned, and reached a hand past her face, he pulled a feather from her hair. "Where did this come from?" he asked.

"Oh," gasped Ralph breathless with laughter, "I was dressing some beds, it must be from one of the pillows."

He smiled at her laughter, "How many rooms did you set up?"

"Four single rooms and a double for Nikita. Got a little distracted while I was waiting for the room to air. If you want you can go pick a room and I'll dress your bed for you?"

Bullet nodded and they both headed up the stairs, he glanced behind him as they were coming round the bend in the stairs, he saw Owen entering the house with a frying pan.

Bugler held the doors open for Owen, while holding the bowl, plate and hunting knife. As Owen entered the living room he announced, "We have prepared the meat, do you want me to add it to the pot?" Nikita smiled and nodded, then went over to the couch and gathered up Baby.

"Okay grub's up everybody!" announced Nikita, as she began spooning the stew into bowls. The room only contained Ralph and Bullet. "Guys will you gather the troops for supper?" she asked with a smile.

Bullet frowned at her, _why is she preparing for war?_ He looked to Ralph, who just smiled and shook her head. "She means go get the others, the food is done," she whispered at him.

"Why couldn't she just say that then?" he asked as the exited the living room.

"And make sure they wash their hands first!" Nikita called to them.

It was only a matter of a few whistles to get the attention of Fix-it, Zero and Bugler, with Owen following behind.

The food was a success! Everyone enjoyed it, and with a few slices of bread, not a speck of food was left in their bowls. Second helpings were offered by Nikita, but the concept seemed foreign to the transgenics. It was decided that one bowl each was enough, it was certainly filling. After the food they sat together in a companionable silence. Then Owen brought out a deck of cards from his back-pack. "What games do you guys know how to play?" he asked the group.

"Poker," suggested Zero. He had played it a few times while out on missions with Ordinaries. It was an easy way to make money, what with his photographic memory and IQ, _counting cards; it was only cheating if you got caught right?_

Nikita got up as Baby started whining, "Is Baby wanting supper too?" she cooed.

Owen rolled his eyes; never had he expected to hear Nikita cluck over an infant. He quickly averted his eyes when he realised she was taking off her shirt, and then made sure nobody else was looking either. "What do you want to play for? We don't really have money."

"Clothes?" suggested Zero. Owen frowned at him, _strip poker? Wasn't that a little wrong, what with present company?_

"How about favours or chores?" he counter offered.

"We could do truth or dare?" suggested Nikita, as she re-joined the group with a blanket around her shoulders.

Owen tried not to stare, but after assessing that everything was covered, replied "Is that not a little childish Nikita?"

"Depends how you play Owen? Anyway it's a great ice-breaker," she reasoned.

"Okay, so rules, whoever wins the hand gets to ask the truth or dare question to whomever they choose?" he asked.

Zero went over to the tools, "We could use screw for chips, and each person starts with five? Then the person that wins the hand gets to ask the question, but whoever has the lowest number of screws at the end of the hand, is the truth or dare-ee?"

There were nods among the majority. The rules and aims to poker were described and the game began. After the first few hands a pattern was emerging, Bugler got the dare of standing on one hand and reciting the alphabet backwards, then Owen had to describe the trickiest situation he had been in (Holding a priceless Faberge egg, while fighting off Russians and Chinese, in order to appease a kidnapper.) Then Fix-it was asked, what was the most expensive thing she had ever hotwired (a toss-up between specialised military equipment, and a Bugatti Veyron, which handled excellently apparently). Soon the players became less interested in the card game and more interested in the stories of daring feats or events while on missions.

Nikita smiled as they cleared up for the night, times like the hours they had just had, that was part of being free. That's what she had experienced when she first met Zero. No romantic ideas, just shared stories of similar experiences.

"Do we have assigned quarters?" asked Bugler, looking towards Nikita and then Zero.

"Nah, but we do only have a few rooms made up," said Ralph messing up his hair.

"You girls can bunk with me if you want?" offered Nikita.

"Thanks for the offer, but I've got first watch, so I wouldn't want to disturb you," replied Fix-it.

"We can manage with the number made up I think, we'll just swap as we come off and on duty." said Bullet.

"Okay then goodnight everyone," said Nikita with a yawn as she headed for her room.

Owen took the one three doors down the hall, Bugler took the one to the left of him, while Bullet took the one on the right. Ralph took the room next to Nikita.


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: So the characters aren't mine, but this was part of an idea I had.

Chapter 6

In the night Bugler came off second watch, tagging Ralph to take third. Although he had managed the first two hours, he found he couldn't sleep alone in a room. Back at Manticore he had slept in barracks with his unit. Then in his group after Manticore burned he had shared a room with either Bullet or Zero. After half an hour of trying to sleep, he grabbed his pillow and blanket, then stealthily opened Owen's door. He placed his pillow next to Owen's bed, and settled down to sleep. With the sound of Owen's even breaths and heartbeat Bugler was asleep in moments.

Bugler awoke with a foot to the stomach, Owen not knowing he was there, had merely stepped out of bed; onto something soft… within moments Owen found himself face-down on his bedroom floor with his arms behind his back. Bugler having woken to a perceived attack had disabled his opponent on pure instinct and training. Then realising who it was under his hands, he released Owen. "Sorry," Bugler said a little sheepishly, "old habits" wincing in apology.

Owen, rubbing his shoulder asked, "What are you even doing in here?"

"I… I couldn't sleep…" Bugler said hesitantly, feeling he was in the wrong, looking at the floor. As he spoke Owen put on his jeans and a clean shirt from his back-pack. "I've never… been alone all night before… well… except in the box… but I never slept in there…"

Owen noticed how unsure of himself Bugler was, "Hey, kid, is okay, I just didn't know you were there. If you really want, we can move another bed in here, so you don't have to sleep on the floor." Owen sighed, giving the boy a one armed hug. "Just be aware, sometimes I have nightmares, of the things I did under orders…" he trailed off, _I haven't had one of those dreams in a few weeks, maybe they are gone? Maybe… _Outside their door they heard movement, everybody was waking up. "Come on kid, let's go see everybody."

"Hey guys, for breakfast I am offering bread and fruit, what do you think?" Nikita greeted them as they entered the kitchen. "I've decided to actually do the cooking and food preparation in the kitchen, seeing as that's how it's supposed to be used. Did you guys sleep well?" she asked, finally looking up from slicing the fruit. She noticed that they had come down together which was perhaps a little strange. Buglers hair was a little messed up either from sleep, or from the fact he is a boy and doesn't really care.

"I slept fine, just had an interesting wake-up call… Didn't peg you as quite so much of a morning person?" deflected Owen. Nikita looked between the two, but if they didn't want to talk about it that was fine.

Ralph and Zero were the next ones to appear in the kitchen. "Did anyone else hear a thump this morning?" inquired Zero. Owen glanced at Bugler, and shook his head innocently at Zero. Nikita caught the shared glance, _I wonder what is going on there…_ she thought.

Fix-it entered next, "I found this radio last night, was going to see if I can get it working."

"This food is good, just like jam but without all the sugar," said Owen.

Nikita smiled at him, "It's a fairly normal European breakfast. Brightens you up for the day, don't you think."

After breakfast Owen and Bugler headed outside, "You remember the skin from yesterday, which we staked to stretch it out? Well I've been thinking we could maybe make it into a punch bag or something. For practicing with, what do you think? But it is going to take some time to tan the skin, I think."

Bugler nodded enthusiastically, doing anything with Owen seemed to be an adventure into learning.

"Where is Bullet this morning?" asked Nikita.

"Well he had last watch so we might not see him for a bit today. He likes his _beauty_ sleep," answered Ralph with a smile.

"Ah, right, well perhaps we shouldn't do anything too noisy then?"

Owen was looking in the garden shed for tools and lumber, "Found some!" called out Owen. "Seeing as it's a nice day, shall we work outside? Can you go and get the tools we bought yesterday, please?"

Bugler retrieved them from the living room. "Thank you, okay main rule for working with wood, is measure twice cut once, because if you cut it too short there is no way to make it longer," explained Owen. "Okay, screwdrivers, you see the one with a cross-shaped point, that's called a Philips, and the other one is easy to remember, it's called a Flat Head. Got it?" he asked. Bugler nodded.

"How much work do you think it will take to have a warm shower?" Nikita asked Ralph, as they scrubbed at some clothes in the bucket. Next in the pile were some of Baby's diapers.

"Well we would have to fill the water cylinder, and heating the water would be easiest with the generator," replied Ralph. "We should check with Fix-it first though, she knows more about this than I do."

Fix-it sat back from the radio when presented with the question, "Well actually we don't have to draw the water from the well by hand. I was looking at it last night; this house draws its water from a nearby spring on the property. Once I open the pipes again, it should flow easy enough, then with the generator on to heat the water, after about an hour you should be good to go. I can finish the radio later and get onto the water project immediately."

Nikita nodded and smiled, "Thank you Fix-it that sounds brilliant!" Fix-it headed out too deal with her assignment.

After Nikita and Ralph had finished with the washing, they draped the items along the radiators in the living room, knowing that when the generator started they would heat up and dry the clothes. "Shall we clean the rest of the rooms while we wait for the shower to work?" suggested Ralph. They went off to do that, by lunch time the shower was ready.

When it was time for the first ever shower in their new home, Nikita almost moaned at the joy of a warm shower. Fix-it hearing the soft whimper, knocked on the door, "Everything okay in there?" she asked.

"Yes it's lovely," replied Nikita. She was washing Baby too, conserving water and all that. But really it was part of the joy of being a mother; she loved the feeling of skin on skin, no matter what she was doing.

Fix-it was the next to have a shower as it was her skills that had enabled its use. Ralph had her shower last out of the girls, and then the generator was turned down to conserve their fuel.

Nikita was making a list when Zero entered the kitchen. "Perimeter is secure ma'am," he reported. "What are you writing?" he asked more curious now that he was off duty.

"I'm making a list of the things we need to get on a trip into town, but also the steps we need to take in order to appear ordinary, and therefore invisible" replied Nikita. Noticing his slight frown, she explained further. "For example your clothes, you dress as if you are still in the military, which draws attention. If you were to wear jeans for example, most young people wear jeans, therefore you would blend in. Camouflage isn't just greens and shadows, there is a saying "hiding in plain sight". So new clothes are on the list, also jobs and school has a question mark." She stopped when she noticed his frown. "What is it?" she asked.

"We are educated extensively, why do we need to attend school? How would we protect you if we are employed elsewhere?" asked Zero with a concerned face.

"Perhaps not yourself that needs to attend school, but how about little Bugler? He needs to learn how to interact with children his own age. Jobs will bring in more money to the household, and you are not all needed here during the daytime." She paused to see how well she was taking her reasons, "There are positives and negatives for living near a small town, one being everybody knows everybody. It can be both, if you are part of the community, then there is gossip, and if somebody strange is around town then you will find out very soon. Therefore it is an advantage to integrate into town life. Getting jobs and spending time in town is how we become part of the community." By the end of her speech Zero was beginning to nod along with her.

"What jobs would you have us do?" he asked.

"Well seeing as Fix-it made such a cracking job with the generator and shower I thought she could become a mechanic. Then I'm not so sure about your skill set, but perhaps a postman? What way you know the names and addresses of everyone in town; it also would give you an internal map. What do you think of that idea? Of course if you don't like it you could do something else…?"

Zero was starting to see a bit more of the woman he had saw that first night in the prison. A woman that was quiet while she was always thinking and planning. This was the most he had ever heard her talk in one go, yet all of her points were thought out. "The plan sounds good, we can maintain a kind of surveillance within the town. How many of us would you want to work? What about Ralph and Bullet?" he asked.

Nikita sighed, "Well that's one of the parts that I haven't quite gotten to just yet. You see, we also have to create a back-story for our lives here. Both Ralph and Bugler are blonde so we can pass them off as having Owen for a father. But I'm not so sure about you other guys." She sighed again "Maybe this is a conversation we should all be having as a group?"

"Why can he not be father to us all?" Zero asked in confusion. "Why do we need a father?"

"Well, you see, to the outside world you are just a bunch of kids. I know that you are skilled soldiers, but I'm just saying what others would think. Children must have adults to care for them as part of a family. You cannot all be siblings because of the technicalities of gestation, it would be impossible for you all to have the same mother." Nikita finished with a bit of a blush, she felt as if she was giving him _the talk_ and she was totally unprepared for that. "Then there is also the matching up of your ages to Owen, and working out how old he would have to be at the time you were born… it gets complicated."

"Why can't you be our mother?" he asked next.

Nikita blushed again, "Hey! I'm a year younger than him thank you very much!" she said a little indignantly. "But on another level, it's kinda to do with race, my skin colour is darker than yours," she said quite quietly, although of course Zero being a transgenic heard easily enough. The change in tone suggesting it was a kind of touchy subject.

"We don't really see race, at Manticore, there was only good soldiers, skin colour had nothing to do with it," so ironically Manticore had a fair amount of equality and freedom in that respect. "Could I be your brother?" he asked a little hesitantly, "I would be honoured to have such a fine warrior as family."

Nikita smiled at him; in all her life she had never really had a family, just a series of foster homes. She had never had a father, but now she had Baby, her own flesh and blood. The fact that Zero, a young man that she had only met on a handful of occasions, wanted to be her family, made her heart constrict a little. "I've never had a family before," she said quietly. "I don't know why I never thought of that, you can be my little brother. And if all else fails we can adopt the others," she finished with a smile.

Zero was glad that he had made her smile. A family is what they all needed, what Manticore had taken from them.

Later over supper the conversation came up again. "Bugler and Ralph, for the sake of our cover as a family, you are going to be the children of Owen. As a backstory I would say your mother was a high school sweetheart or something that lead to marriage and children."

"Aw, Nikita… I never took you for a romantic," cooed Owen. "Hello to my new instant family, how do you feel about me being your father?" he said with a slight grin.

"Well I've never had a father before, but seeing as you have experience in the field you would outrank me anyway, I will do as you say." Said Ralph in a practical manner, to which Owen frowned, that is not how he had meant for his question to be answered.

"Well I think it's kind of cool. You already teach like the fathers on television do." Said Bugler with a smile, tv having been the only source for family-type education.

"Now for people to not ask questions too much I'm afraid we have to kill off your pretend-high-school-sweetheart-wife, death is an awkward topic for most people, so they don't dig too deep." Nikita continued, with the backstory that she had been thinking about.

"Car accident or illness?" asked Owen, ever practical.

"I hadn't decided, I'm thinking maybe illness, it's slow and difficult, but relatable; while a sudden death is violent and can also leave a psychological mark. What do you think? Either way there is a lot of sympathy and less curiosity… Any ideas on a name for this mythical person?" Nikita replied.

"Could we… I mean, she did name us… or would it be bad? Do you think she would mind?" said Bugler hesitantly.

Fix-it picked up on what he was thinking and reassured him, "You want to name this fake mother after Max? I think she would be honoured, she set us free so that we could have a life, almost like this." She said with a smile and ruffled Bugler's blonde hair.

"Okay then, Max it is!" affirmed Nikita watching the interaction of the two_, whomever this Max person was she clearly had a big impact on these kids' lives._ "As for Zero, we were thinking that we could pass him off as my little brother, yes there is an age gap, but it is not unheard of, especially if there was a different father." At the presentation of this idea the others nodded, Zero was fairer skinned than Nikita but he was also darker than the others. "I didn't have a family growing up; I was moved around from one after another foster-homes, Fix-it and Bullet, my suggestion is that you two have been adopted into the family. Adoption explains the number of children of the same-ish age, although I'm not sure who you want to be more attached to, Owen and his family, or me and my brother, or if we got you together? Perhaps I am getting a bit ahead in this backstory? But we have to have it set out so that our stories will match when questioned."

Owen sighed, Nikita was definitely a planner, and her bossiness hadn't faded, it didn't help that all of her points were well founded. "I'd say we got them together, but then you reach the point of what are we Nikita? Are you my second wife? Or are you some form of relative? How deep do you want to go into backstories? I mean you mentioned growing up in care, is that where we met, grew up together as almost family? That could make us siblings, kind of. Or similarly give the story a romantic twist. Had you gotten that far yet?" When Owen stopped his little speech Nikita was blushing, maybe he had enjoyed poking holes in her plan a little too much. But just as reasonable as her points were, so were his.

"Could we call ourselves partners? We've been that before, we make a good team. Leave them to think whatever they want." Nikita suggested with a small smile.

"I can live with that," replied Owen

"Well now that our lives have all been mapped out, shall we hit the hay?" Suggested Zero, while stretching his back and arms.

Bugler frowned, "What hay? We haven't finished the punch-bag yet, it won't be ready for at least another week."

Nikita tried to stop her giggle, she didn't want to upset him, "It is just a phrase people use to say go to bed, or sleep. Which is a good idea, we've got a big day tomorrow, will do us good to get some shut-eye." Nikita started to gather Baby's things, not realising that she had used another phrase that he didn't understand.

"If it is alright with you guys, Bugler is going to sleep in my room tonight; we moved a bed in earlier. Just letting you know in case you need one of us." Owen said as he got up and made his way towards the stairs. He almost missed the slight frowning conversation happening with the youngsters.

Bullet's eyebrows questioned Bugler to see if he was okay. Bugler answered with some kind of sign language _no unit-mates, didn't want to be trouble_. The others nodded in understanding; it had taken them time to adjust to being in their cells alone. But now that they had, and after traveling for so long, they were enjoying having their own space at night. So Bugler spending his nights with Owen suited them, it was accepted with a nod. It was also agreed that the sentry system of the previous night would still be in place.

A/N: This chapter was written a little differently I feel, and I would like to know what you guys think?


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